THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLE UNDER UNITED STATES COPYRIGHT LAW

IVAN HOFFMAN, B.A., J.D.

Here is the fundamental
legal principle under United States copyright law:

If you are not the actual creator of copyrightable work,
then the only way that you can acquire exclusive rights to the creator’s
copyrightable work is by having a valid, written, signed and legally sufficient
writing transferring some or all of those rights exclusively to you.
(I am assuming that the creator is not a bona fide employee of yours acting
within the course and scope of his or her employment and even then, it
is always better to have such a thorough, written and signed agreement).
If you see with vision (read
“The Need for Vision”
and “What Business Are You In?”), you will
understand that that writing should be a thorough, valid, written and signed
agreement covering the many, many issues involved in this sort of transaction.
Thus if you are a publisher, web site owner, author or any other non-creating
party engaging the services of an independent contractor cover artist,
illustrator, editor, ghostwriter, web site designer or any other independent
contractor creating party, you DO NOT OWN exclusive rights to that independent
contractor party’s copyrightable work unless you have such a valid, written
and signed writing. In the absence of such a writing, all such exclusive
rights remain solely owned by the said creator.

I do not take a position
in this article as to which party should own those exclusive rights in
any given transaction since my work, as an attorney, is to represent my
client’s best interests. However, the important point in this article
and the other articles cited and in the statement of the above law is that
it is in both sides best interests to have a thorough, written and
signed agreement covering the many issues that should be covered in any
such transaction.

In the business of intellectual
property rights, which is the business you are likely in if you are reading
this article and are visiting my web site, legally appropriate contracts
are not add-ons to your business, something you do if you have any
money left over; legally appropriate contracts are your business.
Without a thorough and valid contract, what you have is nothing but an
illusion. It only appears you are in business but in reality,
you are not since given any controversy between you and the other party,
you risk losing your rights and the money that goes along with those rights.
Or risk creating such a legal nightmare that the costs overwhelm the benefits.

This article is not intended as legal advice and is not legal advice.
This article is intended to provide only general, non-specific legal information.
This article is not intended to cover all the issues related to the topic
discussed. The specific facts that apply to your matter may make
the outcome different than would be anticipated by you. This article
is based on United States law. You should consult with an attorney
familiar with the issues and the laws of your country. This article
does not create any attorney client relationship.

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No portion of this article may be copied, retransmitted, reposted, duplicated
or otherwise used without the express written approval of the author.